Mobile dental service leaves kids smiling

As Jacorey Summers, 10, grimaced, Dawn Booker, a hygienist with a mobile dental service, worked on his teeth Tuesday.

Catharine Schaidle

As Jacorey Summers, 10, grimaced, Dawn Booker, a hygienist with a mobile dental service, worked on his teeth Tuesday.

"I told you, you could do it. You just didn't want to listen to me, did you?" she said.

Later, he and his sister, Janieya, 6, grinned broadly for the camera after they had their teeth cleaned and some fillings added at the Crittenton Centers, where the Mobile Dentists and Smile Programs had a one-day service.

"It's better like this," said their mother, Jennifer Summers, who uses Crittenton's day-care service. "It's also easier because there are not as many people here. I usually take my kids once a year to the health department, but there are so many people crammed into one place there."

Tonya Allison, another parent, said she appreciates the service.

"I can get right in even without a medical card. I didn't realize how many cavities he has," she said of her son, Alonzo Allison, 6.

The Mobile Dentists and its Smile Programs is a national not-for-profit organization that teams up with local dental professionals to provide on-site, school-based dental care to students in need. The local dentist who worked at the Crittenton Centers is Dr. Charles Kneedler, who has been in dentistry for 41 years and now does it 1 1/2 days a week.

"Most of us do mobile services some time during the school year, anywhere from one to three days," Kneedler said. "I sometimes see children whose decay is so advanced by school age that they have severe problems. There are some children I could have helped a lot more if I could have seen them earlier and told their parents about the problems."

Another advantage is the friendlier atmosphere.

"They respond so differently here than they would in my office," Kneedler said. "It just seems more comfortable for them."

While providing dental care, the mobile service also gives information and educates parents about taking care of their children's teeth.

By the close of Tuesday's session, which ran from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., the dentist and hygienist had served about 40 children, and some had to be turned away, said Tracy Graham, Crittenton's executive director.

"This is the fourth year we're doing this, and there's such a demand for it," she said. "We're seeing people who don't have access to dental care, and they either use their Medicaid or insurance card, or if they don't have any, there is a grant to pay for it. No kid is turned away because the family can't pay."

Catharine Schaidle can be reached at (309) 686-3290 or cschaidle@pjstar.com.